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London School Board election, 1900
The eleventh and final election to the School Board for London was held on Thursday, 29 November 1900. Members of the school board were elected for a three-year term. However, under the terms of the Education Act 1902, all school boards in England and Wales were abolished, with their powers, duties and property passing to education committees of local authorities. In the case of London, education became a function of the London County Council. The 1902 Act provided that the term of office of the final school board should be extended by four months, with its abolition taking place on 26 March 1904. The electorate included all ratepayers, including women, who were entitled to vote in vestry elections, and women could also be members. The County of London was divided into eleven divisions for the election of school board members: each division returned between four and seven members depending on population. The total size of the board was 55 members. Each voter had a number of votes equal to the number of seats in the division. The voter was free to allocate the votes between the candidates in any way they wished. Where an elector gave all of his votes to a single candidate this was known as "plumping", and was seen as a way of ensuring representation of minority religious denominations. Voting was by secret ballot, with the exception of the City of London, where open voting was used. Politics By the time of the eleventh election, the majority party were the Progressive Party, allied to the parliamentary Liberal Party and also supported by some Labour activists. The party's candidates were supporters of free, compulsory and non-sectarian education, manual and physical training, the provision of secondary schools, swimming pools and gymnasiums, free school meals and the direct employment of labour. The opposition Moderate Party had overcome a three-way split it had suffered at the tome of the 1897 election. The Moderates were supported by Conservative and Unionist political organisations. Moderate policies favoured "economy" or low rates, bible teaching in schools and the toleration of voluntary schools provided by various Christian denominations. The "Moderate" and "Progressive" party labels were also adopted by the two parties on the London County Council, following the first election to the body in January 1889. There were also some independent candidates and others promoted by the Social Democratic Federation. A number of Roman Catholic candidates also stood. Results The results saw the Progressives retain control of the board, but with a reduced majority. The Moderates gained 4 seats and lost 1. The Progressives retained a majority of one over all other parties with the support of a lone Labour member. However, they could count on the support of the two Roman Catholic members on all matters except those effecting Catholic schools, giving them an effective majority of 5 seats on most matters. A summary of the gains and losses was as follows: *M = Moderate *P = Progressive *Lab = Labour *Ind = Independent *RC = Roman Catholic Successful candidates are shown in bold type. Members of the outgoing board have an asterisk next to their name. City of London (4 members) Chelsea (5 members) Finsbury (6 members) Greenwich (4 members) Hackney (5 members) Lambeth East (4 members) Lambeth West (6 members) Marylebone (7 members) Southwark (4 members) Tower Hamlets (5 members) Westminster (5 members) Co-options to 1904 The school board elected in 1900 had a three-year term of office. Under the terms of Section 44 of the Elementary Education Act 1876 casual vacancies occurring in the membership of school boards due to death or resignation were filled by co-option. Where a vacancy occurred the sitting members nominated a candidate or candidates. Where there was only one nomination, they were automatically co-opted. Where there was more than one candidate, the vacancy was filled by a vote of the entire board. As note above the term of office of the board was extended until 1904, when it was abolished. There were sixteen co-options prior to the abolition of the eleventh school board. Hackney (5 December 1901) Resignation of Shaftesbury Lambeth West, Marylebone and Westminster (23 January 1902) Resignation of McDonald (Marylebone), Morpeth, (Westminster), Sinclair (Lambeth West) Greenwich (6 March 1902) Resignation of Wilson City of London (20 March 1902) Resignation of Ingram Southwark (19 June 1902) Resignation of Morten Marylebone (6 November 1902) Resignation of Stafford Smith Lambeth West (4 December 1902) Death of Hamilton 30 October 1902. Chelsea (22 January 1903) Resignation of Maitland. Lambeth West (5 March 1903) Resignation of Hughes. Hackney and Marylebone (2 April 1903) Resignation of Kennedy (Hackney), Graham-Harrison (Marylebone) Chelsea (28 May 1903) Resignation of Black. Finsbury (22 October 1903) Resignation of Farrar. Marylebone (26 November 1903) Resignation of Donoughmore References * Category:Elections